Nature and Human Society in the Pre-Modern World
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Albrecht Classen
Abstract
This study will demonstrate that already the Middle Ages knew of an intensive discourse on nature which was viewed either concretely in material terms or symbolically and allegorically in the religious, literary-historical, and philosophical context. That discourse never came to a stop, so it is impossible to limit ourselves to a small set of individual voices addressing nature. Insofar as we are facing here a true discourse, with many different speakers involved (philosophers, theologians, authors, artists, composers), this introductory article can only serve as a productive ‘Pandora’s Box,’ opening a large variety of perspectives toward people’s lives and their interaction with the physical environment. Undoubtedly, every social class, every gender group, age group, minority group, professional group, etc., viewed, targeted, or embraced nature in different ways, living with and through nature. Hence, the hope here can only be to be as inclusive as possible, with the full understanding that completion or exhaustiveness will be impossible. What matters centrally is thus the identification of the broader discourse on nature as it existed already in the pre-modern world, involving philosophers, theologians, poets, medical doctors, rulers, and artists. The purpose of this article is hence to lay the foundation for a fundamental understanding of that discourse, taking into consideration some of the major voices reflecting both on nature and human society in the pre-modern world.
Abstract
This study will demonstrate that already the Middle Ages knew of an intensive discourse on nature which was viewed either concretely in material terms or symbolically and allegorically in the religious, literary-historical, and philosophical context. That discourse never came to a stop, so it is impossible to limit ourselves to a small set of individual voices addressing nature. Insofar as we are facing here a true discourse, with many different speakers involved (philosophers, theologians, authors, artists, composers), this introductory article can only serve as a productive ‘Pandora’s Box,’ opening a large variety of perspectives toward people’s lives and their interaction with the physical environment. Undoubtedly, every social class, every gender group, age group, minority group, professional group, etc., viewed, targeted, or embraced nature in different ways, living with and through nature. Hence, the hope here can only be to be as inclusive as possible, with the full understanding that completion or exhaustiveness will be impossible. What matters centrally is thus the identification of the broader discourse on nature as it existed already in the pre-modern world, involving philosophers, theologians, poets, medical doctors, rulers, and artists. The purpose of this article is hence to lay the foundation for a fundamental understanding of that discourse, taking into consideration some of the major voices reflecting both on nature and human society in the pre-modern world.
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter I
- Contents VII
- Introduction 1
- Nature and Human Society in the Pre-Modern World 29
- Unnatural Humans: The Misbegotten Monsters of Beowulf 97
- Natural Environment in the Old English Orosius: Ohthere’s Travel Accounts in Norway 135
- When Is a Good Time? Health Advice and the Months of the Year 153
- Humans Serving Nature: Beekeeping and Bee Products in Piero de Crescenzi’s Ruralia commoda 169
- Medieval Epistemology and the Perception of Nature: From the Physiologus to John of Garland and the Niederrheinische Orientbericht. Bestiaries and the ‘Book of Nature’ 189
- Waste, Excess, and Profligacy as Critiques of Authority in Fourteenth-Century English Literature 217
- “A New Flood Was Released from the Heavens”: The Literary Responses to the Disaster of 1333 253
- The Environmental Causes of the Plague and their Terminology in the German Pestbücher of the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Centuries 301
- Island, Grove, Bark, and Pith: Nature Metaphors in Teresa de Cartagena 331
- Nature, Art, and Human Perception in Giulio Romano’s Room of the Giants at the Palazzo del Te, Mantua (1532–1535) 353
- Human Body, Natural Causes, and Aging of the World in Czech-Language Sources of the Late Middle Ages and Early Modern Period 383
- Perception of Air Quality in the Czech Lands of the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries 415
- Johann Arndt’s Book of Nature: Medieval Ideas During the German Reformation 435
- Imitation vs. Allegorization: Martin Opitz’s Influential Proposal Concerning Poetic Reflections on Nature 459
- François Bernier and Nature in Kashmir: Belonging in Paradise? 485
- Cosmology and Pre-Modern Anthropology 505
- Praising Perchta as the Embodiment of Nature’s Cycles: Worship and Demonization of Perchta and Holda in Medieval and Early Modern Culture 549
- List of Illustrations 581
- Biographies of the Contributors 583
- Index 589
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter I
- Contents VII
- Introduction 1
- Nature and Human Society in the Pre-Modern World 29
- Unnatural Humans: The Misbegotten Monsters of Beowulf 97
- Natural Environment in the Old English Orosius: Ohthere’s Travel Accounts in Norway 135
- When Is a Good Time? Health Advice and the Months of the Year 153
- Humans Serving Nature: Beekeeping and Bee Products in Piero de Crescenzi’s Ruralia commoda 169
- Medieval Epistemology and the Perception of Nature: From the Physiologus to John of Garland and the Niederrheinische Orientbericht. Bestiaries and the ‘Book of Nature’ 189
- Waste, Excess, and Profligacy as Critiques of Authority in Fourteenth-Century English Literature 217
- “A New Flood Was Released from the Heavens”: The Literary Responses to the Disaster of 1333 253
- The Environmental Causes of the Plague and their Terminology in the German Pestbücher of the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Centuries 301
- Island, Grove, Bark, and Pith: Nature Metaphors in Teresa de Cartagena 331
- Nature, Art, and Human Perception in Giulio Romano’s Room of the Giants at the Palazzo del Te, Mantua (1532–1535) 353
- Human Body, Natural Causes, and Aging of the World in Czech-Language Sources of the Late Middle Ages and Early Modern Period 383
- Perception of Air Quality in the Czech Lands of the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries 415
- Johann Arndt’s Book of Nature: Medieval Ideas During the German Reformation 435
- Imitation vs. Allegorization: Martin Opitz’s Influential Proposal Concerning Poetic Reflections on Nature 459
- François Bernier and Nature in Kashmir: Belonging in Paradise? 485
- Cosmology and Pre-Modern Anthropology 505
- Praising Perchta as the Embodiment of Nature’s Cycles: Worship and Demonization of Perchta and Holda in Medieval and Early Modern Culture 549
- List of Illustrations 581
- Biographies of the Contributors 583
- Index 589
